Thursday October 30, 2008

Riddick Game Finds Home

Now this is a great news! After the Activision-Blizzard merger a lot of games were left on the sidelines and one of these games was The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena. The game was to be basically an HD version of the Xbox hit Escape from Butcher Bay with an added campaign and multiplayer option but no one seemed in a hurry to release the game.
Well it has just been announced that Atari will be publishing the ’sequel’ for the 360, PS3 and PC in spring 2009.
I am glad to see this project found new life.

Elder Scrolls V for 2010?

A few days ago Bethesda joked saying that the next Fallout would be released before 2018 (referring to the 10 years that separate Fallout 2 and 3). Today Peter Oughton told GamesIndustry.biz that the next chapter in the Elder Scrolls series may come out in 2010 on 360, PS3 and PC.

Dragon Age: Origins 9-Minute Gameplay Video

BioWare released this new video commented by the developers showcasing the ‘Origins’ aspect of the game as well as how your decisions will affect the game.
for example the type of character you create should greatly modify dialogue and quest options. Also your being always good (or always bad) won’t always bring the best rewards (some of which you may not even be aware of).
Check out the video here.

Tuesday October 28, 2008

BioShock 2 Dated

Last week Take Two announced that the game would be released on PS3, 360 and PC although no mention was made of a simultaneous release.
Now they have announced that the game will come out between August and October 2009.

Good Old Games Opens!!

You have to look it up.
GOG is a downloading platform created by Polish company CDProjekt which features somewhat older games for $5.99 and $9.99.
It is worth noting that all games are compatible with Windows XP and Vista and that they are DRM-free.
The list isn’t huge so far but they have several great and lengthy games. Among these are Fallout 1 and 2, Kingpin, Freespace 1 and 2, Redneck Rampage and more.
Be sure to check it out.

Guitar Hero Drum Issues

Guitar Hero World Tour shipped Sunday and it seems early acquirers are facing some problems with the hardware. According to numerous reports the drums’ biggest problem is that they are overly sensitive so that when you hit one drum it will activate the one next to it.
Also some say you need to hit some cymbal a certain way or they won’t respond.
Activision Blizzard addressed the issue saying there is a fix and it will guide consumers with the issue through it…
How about replacing a faulty product??

Baja Cover Battle

THQ filed a lawsuit against Activison Blizzard stating that their cover for SCORE International Baja 1000 was too similar THQ’s title (Baja: Edge of Control).
I have to say that when you look at the covers it’s a bit too close for comfort.

Sequels, Sequels

Ok let’s make it quick.
Saints Row 3, LittleBigPlanet 2, Dead Space 2, Army of Two 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2.
There, see, quick.

Friday October 24, 2008

Street Fighter IV to America This ‘Winter’

Yoshi Ono, producer of the game, as told G4’s X-Play that while he couldn’t be sure the game would come out in 2008, it would definitely be out before the end of the 2009 winter. Meaning we potentially have until March 2009 to wait.
He added playfully that he wanted to get it out asap so that the Japanese don’t have too much time to train and kick our asses online. Anyone who’s been into a Japanese arcade knows what he means.

Runaway 3 Revealed

Focus and Pendulo Studios released the first screen of the game that will tie the trilogy together. The game will be called Runaway: A Twist of Fate and will feature a more mature and urban ambiance.
On the technical side the game will now have HD backgrounds, new animations and expressions and a revamped inventory system.
Runaway: A Twist of Fate is set to come out fourth quarter 2009.

Hellgate: London Shuts Down January 31

After Flagship Studios went down in July it was only a matter of time but it’s now official. Namco Bandai will continue to operate the game free of charge through January 31.

Big Xbox 360 Bundle for $349

Since the price cut for the various versions of the 360 helped boost sales so much, Microsoft has decided to launch a new hefty bundle at Sam’s Club (Walmart wholeseller).
The bundle releasing mid-November, will include an Xbox 360 Pro 60G, Guitar Hero III with the guitar, Lego Indiana Jones and Kung Fu Panda. A pretty nice deal!
For those who don’t shop at Sam’s Club you can get the same bundle sans Guitar Hero III for $299.

Thursday October 23, 2008

Quarterly Reports

I won’t bore you with the details so here are the summaries: Sony’s down, UbiSoft is up and Microsoft is weathering the storm thanks to price drop.
Voila

Deus Ex 3 News…Sort of

In an interview with Edge, Jean-Francois Dugas said that the console version of the game was nothing certain right now. The PC version is a certitude but he said they would not release a watered-down adaptation especially concerning the interface and gameplay which shouldn’t bring the game down.
He was also quoted saying that he thought the first Deus Ex was too slow and didn’t feature any memorable scenes.
I wonder if we played the same game but we’ll see what this means for the sequel when more details are revealed.

Ys Book I & II DS Confirmed in the US

Atlus confirmed today that the game will be released in North America on February 10. The game will feature updated 3D graphics, new levels, enemies, and equipment, optional stylus controls (thank God it’s optional), local multiplayer, and remixed music.
Check out the trailer here.

BioShock 2 Teaser in HD

For those of you who missed it and for those who want to see again in HD glory, click here.

Wednesday October 22, 2008

E3 Overhaul Confirmed

As I posted yesterday, this year E3 will become bigger and hopefully better. It seems G4 was right and Newsweek was wrong since the show will take place Tuesday June 2 through Thursday June 4 and will not be open to public. However audience invites will be more numerous and hopefully will include us bloggers/journalists
Booth size will also be bigger, doing away with the 20×20 feet space limit.

PSP-3000 Woes

The portable console just came out in Japan and apparently people are already complaining.  The problem apparently is coming from the scanlines which are supposed to improve contrast and rendering.
The screens speak for themselves and apparently since the problem is from the new screen there can be no software update. Which means if you don’t like you can re-buy the old one…or wait for a new version.

Gears of War 2 Banned in Germany and Possibly Japan

This trend is really starting to annoy me (and I’m mincing words). You would think that democracies would be smart but this is no different than Book Burning or the Church censorship of the Middle Ages.
These countries don’t shy away from releasing every other porn movie (especially Japan which borders on the underage sex cult) and violent movie out there so what stops them from putting an ‘Adult’ label on the cover and give it a rest???
I guess Germans will have to buy their games on Amazon.uk……ooooohhh maybe the police is going to knock on their door for contraband importation…..
Whatever.

Tuesday October 21, 2008

RetroBeats Session 14 is Out!

This week I select my favorite songs taken from video game intros.
Be sure to check it out if you enjoy games.

E3 May Be Back

After the controversial 2007 and 2008 versions of what used to be the biggest show for the video game industry, it was clear that the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) had to figure something out.
Today we have two somewhat different reports.
On the one hand is G4’s X-Play which has said that the show will be from Tuesday June 2 to Thursday June 4 and that while it will have a much wider range of guests it still won’t be open to the public.
On the other hand N’Gai Croal (from Newsweek) got from an ‘inside source‘ that the show will be limited to the press from Tuesday through Thursday but will be open to the public on Friday and Saturday. Although the ESA plans to cap the limit to 40,000 persons.
The ESA is supposed to make a formal announcement tomorrow.
What is clear is that whether or not E3 is coming back in full swing, it is clearly on the move.

Syndicate Lives!!

Rumors are afloat on the web that Electronic Arts and Starbreeze (Escape from Butcher Bay, The Darkness…) are currently working on a new game for the great Syndicate series (made by Bullfrog in 1993 and 1996). Even if it is still just word of mouth so far, considering the success of the first two games and how long it has been, we can be excited about this.

New Alan Wake Trailer!!

Big news today. Check it out here.
The project from Remedy has a lot of potential but we can see the game is starting to show its age a little so they better either release it fast or rework it a bit…. Mostly release it fast.

Xbox Live Insult Censorship?

Microsoft is trying to implement a system that will censor words in real time on Live. Live has long been known for its slew of stupid teenagers who curse left and right and sometimes harass players, you can report them and have them banned but there is little anyone can do to really stop them from ever coming back.
In any case Microsoft is trying to become more family-friendly but aside from the technical difficulty of this endeavor I doubt a system will be able to differentiate between tens of different languages.
for example I am French. What would the system do if I said “Il faut que je retourne a la base” (I have to return to base)?? “faut que” can sound a lot like “f*ck” so then what?
I will leave you to ponder this.

KotOR MMORPG Confirmed!!!

Everyone had suspicions it was coming but it was confirmed today by LucasArts and BioWare during a special interview with Gamespot.
The game will be called Star Wars: The Old Republic and have two factions, the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire. Within each faction you can verge between the Light and Dark side. The game will take place 300 years after the KotOR games which is 3600 years before the movies.
Not much info has filtered yet but BioWare is saying they want to make the most story/character driven MMO out there and we certainly hope they hold true to this.
In any case I suggest you head over to Gamespot to check out the lengthy article and the 10 minute video that goes with it.

Friday October 17, 2008

LittleBigPlanet Recalled

What is probably the most anticipated PS3 game of the holiday season has been pushed back to a somewhat undetermined date due to lines from the Qur’an holy book being featured in one of the game’s level’s music.
SCEA confirmed the speculations on their blog and said that they “will begin shipping LittleBigPlanet to retail in North America the week of October 27th.”
Somewhere Sackboy is frowning.

Tom Clancy Games to Merge?

It seems UbiSoft is looking to combine five of its series into one big sprawling saga. In the future Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell, EndWar and HAWK could see their plotlines intermingle.
They already plan to mix EndWar 2 with another title, possibly Ghost Recon, and are hoping that EndWar will become the main universe which will tie all the others.

Vader and Yoda Will Battle…for V.I.Ps

Microsoft has announced that on October 23 Japanese players will be able to download Yoda (for the PS3) and Darth Vader (for the 360) in Soul Calibur IV.
Here is where the cookie crumbles: each player will have to fork about $6 (¥600 and 400MS Points) for them.
So if you feel like being treated like a stupid kid with holes in his pocket, go ahead and download… provided you live in Japan.

Blizzard’s New MMO Will Be Different

Mike Morhaime, CEO of Blizzard, said in an interview with Wired that there new unknown MMO project will not be a World of Warcraft sequel. He added: “It will be different. We’re not trying to replace World of Warcraft with this new MMO. We’re trying to create a different massively multiplayer experience, and hopefully, World of Warcraft will still be going strong when that one is released.”
Considering they have said that it may also be released on consoles let us hope that it doesn’t bring the quality of the title down.

Thursday October 16, 2008

Obama Speaks to Gamers

With the elections less than three weeks away (thank God!) Barack Obama is branching out and putting ads in no more than EA 18 games!
Gamers first spotted the ads in Burnout Paradise but it has since been confirmed that they also bought media space in Madden 09, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, Skate and more.
EA has stated that they do not endorse either candidates and that its ad firm, Massive, even contacted the McCain campaign which passed on the deal.

Toshinden Is Back!

One the PSX first title and one of the first 3D fighting game, Battle Arena Toshinden slipped quietly into oblivion and has not been heard since… until this week.
Famitsu announced in their latest issue that the game will come back on the Wii. Not many details have been released aside from the magazine scans but the chara design looks very different.
We’ll wait eagerly for more info.

BioShock 2 Name and Teaser

Last year’s most immersive FPS was a huge succes and it was no stretch of the imagination to think that 2K Games was working on a sequel. Well players who bought the PS3 version of the game and finished it unlocked a nice little extra, namely the first teaser for BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams.
There is debate on the web as to whether the game is a prequel or a sequel but I’m sure the developers will give us an answer soon enough.

GTA San Andreas and Portal Hitting XBL!

Someone is going to make major $$ next week. GTA San Andreas will be downloadable as an Xbox Original on October 20. Meanwhile Portal will be available on October 22 ans will feature 14 new levels and 6 new maps.
Both games will be priced at 1,200 Microsoft Points ($15). Time to go buy a new card.

Wednesday October 15, 2008

RetroBeats Session 13 Out!

Well I’m back so with me comes a new RetroBeats on RetroWare TV.
This time I’m putting some of Mega Man’s best tunes across various series in honor of the release of Mega Man 9.
Thank you Capcom!

TGS 2008 Tops Attendance

This year 194,288 people showed up at the show up from 193,040 last year. Maybe it’s time the people who organize E3 stopped their BS and paid a little attention.

Gone Gold

Far Cry 2 and Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 have both gone gold.
The UbiSoft title will be released on PC, PS3 and 360 October 21 while the EA title is a bit more messy. It will be released on PC October 28, on 360 November 11 and on the PS3….whenever, the game is on indefinite hiatus on the Sony console.

BlizzCon 08 Media Blowout!

You all really need to check out the footage from the convention featuring the two upcoming blockbusters from Blizzard. If you just woke up from a 25 year slumber I’m talking about StarCraft II and Diablo III.
I’m not an RTS fan but I have to say I wish I were because the sequel to the 1998 game simply looks stunning. The in-game off-map footage looks just like a cinematic it’s scary, the ambiance and lore look amazing and make me hope for a StarCraft MMO someday.
On the other hand I’m a huge, HUGE Diablo fan and the Wizard trailer made me cry just a little. The game is going to kill.
Anyway go here to check the footage, courtesy of GameTrailers.

Tuesday October 14, 2008

Game of the Moment (for me)

I don’t know if this will be an ongoing thing but I wanted to speak it this time.
Dead Space!
I wasn’t overly excited at first since I much prefer the FPS kind where you fight humans but now that I’m seeing reviews and such I am getting very excited. This feels like a very claustrophobic game not unlike the great Sci-Fi movies like Alien or Sunshine. The sound design sounds plain superb with the muffled deafness of space. The integrated menu which keeps you immersed is genius.
Bottom line this looks like….the Game of the Moment!
Check out the GameSpot review here.

Former Flagship Members Head to Turbine

Back in July when Flagship Studios shut down and a lot of people had to leave ship and went to create new studio Runic Games.
Today Turbine announced that they will open a new branch called Turbine West and that former Flagship Studios members Dave Brevik and Jeff Lind will be joining the West branch.
Specific details about the projects they will work on have not been announced.

Starcraft II Is a….Trilogy?

When Rob Pardo said that StarCraft II was going to be a big game he wasn’t kidding. It’s so big in fact that the game will be released in three parts, each focusing on one faction of the game and each having close to 30 missions.
The first game will focus on the Humans and be called Wings of Liberty. The second will focus on the Zerg and be called Heart of the Swarm and finally the last one will focus on the Protoss and be named Legacy of the Void.
Now let’s hope they don’t price each at $60 because that would be pushing it… just a bit.

FIFA 09 Is Rocking Europe

We all know soccer is much more appreciated in Europe but can’t deny the quality of this new EA game. FIFA 09 sold more than 1.2 million copies in just a week.
With Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 coming out we can expect some good times for soccer fans this year.